After a very rough start of the season in which performances actually looked even worse than results, on Friday, Milan actually recorded their third consecutive league win. In fact, we were kings for a day, briefly topping the Serie A table before the other matches in round six were played. Even if the match also got off to a very rough start, three quick goals put a painful end to Lecce's soul crushing week, while Milan took all 3 points with a 3-0 win at home. Perhaps Fonseca finally has these guys shifting into third gear.
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| A team united, with happy fans again. |
The game got off to an amazing start, as Milan honored the International Week for the Deaf with a few initiatives, including the players having learned to introduce themselves in sign language. The adorable surprise was that the respective mascot children signed "Forza Lecce" or "Forza Milan" as the camera panned across them ahead of kickoff. Absolutely amazing. I love this club.
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| Morata was on target for the first goal. |
For the first 35 minutes, Milan were stuck in neutral, with Lecce taking advantage of this by attacking relentlessly. Maignan was called into action a number of times. In fact, he would end the night with seven saves after facing 16 shots on target. From lower table Lecce.
That all changed in the 38th minute, when it seemed that suddenly, the Milan players woke up and shifted into gear. First up was a Morata header from a set piece to make it 1-0 Milan. Morata, who had just cut his hair to look like Pavlović (he actually shaved it in solidarity with children with cancer,) raced over to his children to celebrate. Amazing.
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| The synergy is real. |
Three minutes later, Theo scored an amazing goal from a fantastic assist from Captain Leão. 2-0 Milan Fonseca had said before the match that there were several players who could wear the armband, and Leão was one of them. I think he may be on his redemption tour with Leão, trying to make up for having benched him against Lazio. Theo was not only awarded Serie A's Player of the Match, he was also voted Milan's MVP as well. But this was an important goal for him, as it drew him level with Paolo Maldini for the defender with the most goals scored for Milan in Serie A.
Tammy Abraham hit the post, and actually had a shot saved, before Pulisic finally slotted it home, making it 3-0 Milan. In just five short minutes. Pulisic now has five goals and two assists in all competitions for Milan this season so far, putting him in the race for the Serie A capocannoniere (top scorer.)
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| The love is real. |
I was impressed that Lecce had the emotional fortitude to return to the pitch after halftime, they had quite a rough week. But return they did, and Emerson Royal was shown a yellow card in the first few minutes for trying to stop a determined Coulibaly. Then Fonseca subbed Morata off in the 56th minute, replacing him with Loftus-Cheek. Morata had barely passed a fitness test in order to play at all, so this was an important precautionary sub.
Fonseca's next subs were Musah and Chukwueze to replace Fofana and Pulisic respectively in the 63rd minute. With the comfortable lead, he was clearly thinking about rotation ahead of Tuesday's match. There were chances for both sides. Our old friend Rebić was fit and threatened throughout the match, both creating chances and taking them. It was also nice to see the video of him greeting his good friend Ibrahimović in the tunnel ahead of the match.Tammy Abraham had a few regrets, and Loftus-Cheek had some great chances, too, including in the 71st minute, when his shot bounced off the top of the crossbar. Not to be outdone, Lameck Banda hit the post in the 72nd minute.
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| Rebić looked good, but so did Chukweuze when he subbed on. |
For his part, Leão seemed to do well mediating the situation with Zufferli as the captain, even if the other Milan players were still trying to plead the case as well. And it was especially great to see Theo, Tammy, Morata, and Jiménez on the sidelines to console Bartesaghi on his way to the dressing room. While I am not 100% convinced that the team is that into Fonseca, they do definitely seem to be united as a team.
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| Maignan had a big night again, with seven saves. |
The win was great, but also the scoreline might be generous, because while Milan did get the three goals in just the five minutes, there was much of the match that Lecce caused them problems. However, this performance was much improved from the first few matches, so you could argue that things are starting to click. Tuesday will be another big test for Fonseca, playing away in the Champions League. But hopefully, the progress we have seen will continue, and Milan can perhaps even find a way to shift above third gear.
Milan Futuro Get Their First League Win in a 2-1 Victory Over SPAL
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| Chaka Traorè shows how it feels to finally take all three points. |
Bonera's side finally took all three points in a league match on Thursday for the first time this season. The first half was a 0-0 stalemate, but Bonera made an important substitution by bringing on Hodžić, who would score the opening goal in the 67th minute. Milan Futuro conceded in the 83rd minute, but came right back and scored, with Chaka Traorè getting on the scoresheet to make it 2-1 Milan Futuro. This was a great way to christen the new Chinetti stadium, which was finally completed and available for this match. The highlights of each match are available on the Serie C YouTube channel.
Milan Futuro will face Lucchese on Monday. This is the club where Gabbia spent a year on loan in the 2018-19 season, which he said in an interview was the most important year of his career because he realized that everyone in Serie C worked just as hard as everyone in Serie A, every victory was just as important, but without the economic and media recognition.
Milan Primavera Draw 1-1 with Cesena Primavera
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| Getting the equalizer for the point. |
The Primavera struggled on Friday, having gone down 1-0 in the 24th minute. They were able to get the equalizer when Perrucci converted a penalty in the 71st minute, final score Milan Primavera 1, Cesena Primavera 1. Brief highlights of the match are available. Guidi's side are now in third place on the table, tied with Roma and Juve Primavera teams, but Roma have a game in hand, and Juve's Primavera have scored more goals. Milan Primavera travel to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen's U19 side on Tuesday.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
12:35 AM
Rating:
